Cook urged to talk with nemesis Warne

London - Adam Gilchrist has advised Alastair Cook to “sit down and talk” with Shane Warne in a bid to defuse Warne’s relentless criticism of the England captain.

Asked about Warne’s insistence that Cook’s leadership is too negative, the hard-hitting former Australia wicketkeeper, who will today represent the Rest of the World against MCC at Lord’s, replied: “I don’t think Warnie’s the only one to make those accusations. A point he makes is that the captain is responsible, and it will come down to his desire to risk losing to win. I don’t know whether Alastair has rung Shane up, or grabbed him and said, “Can we have a chat?” I’m sure Warnie would be happy to sit down and talk.”

Warne recently wrote that Cook’s captaincy on the fourth day of the Headingley Test against Sri Lanka was the worst he had seen “at international level in almost 25 years in the game”.

Cook had begun that match complaining that “something needs to be done” about Warne’s critiques. And Gilchrist said: “I couldn’t imagine what it would be like with Warnie as an opponent. He’d just be all over you.

“Alastair has been an outstanding player. I’ve no doubt he knows how to succeed.” - Daily Mail